God Has Eyes, Even When We Are Blind

The title of this post has an interesting description in it. It's called anthropomorphism. It means assigning to God human qualities and physical traits that give us a frame of reference but really don't describe God literally. For instance, "God has eyes" is an anthropomorphism. God sees us but he does not have a physical appearance as we are so it is not likely that God has eyes. However, it is a way of expressing something about the nature of God (God watches over us; God sees us and knows us; God is looking down upon us; etc.). For instance, I realized to day how much God has been watching over me even when I was walking along in the dark about what to do. Here is how I came to realize this.
Today, I spent the afternoon watching several professors of preaching gather from around the nation to put on DVD their ideas and thoughts about what is called, "Performance Preaching". Before I tell you what that is, let me tell you a little bit of how I got to Fuller in the first place. I applied for a Ph.D program at several seminaries. I wanted to study preaching and had a real interest in narrative based preaching (narrative based preaching is centered in a story telling approach to scripture). As I looked at seminaries, I looked at location, reputation, and application. My goals were simple - get in! Along the way I came to realize that the philosophy of those who teach homiletics (the science of preaching) vary greatly. I interviewed in one place where the ideas I proposed were so offensive to them that I got turned down not on the basis of skill or competency or GPA but on the style of my preaching.
I had applied to Fuller based solely on its reputation. It was considered to be a top notch seminary and getting a degree from here would be prestigious. I had never met the head of the Homiletics Department, Dr. Clay Schmit. We talked briefly on the phone one day and that was it. So, when I got my acceptance, I was elated but also wondering what now? I met Clay and instantly liked him and we both felt this was a relationship that would go well. I have become his R.A. (research assistant) and get paid to help him with projects. One of those is to read and help edit a book that he is helping to put together from a variety of sources on the subject of "Performance Preaching". Today, I got my first exposure to what that means. And it was amazing. Here were all these professors of preaching from around the country talking about the very things that I am most interested in exploring. One was a mime artist and gave an amazing lecture on gestures and how important they can be. Another has an acting background and did some fascinating dramatic scripture readings. The "guru" of this movement was there and he was a wonderful and powerful man who had launched this movement and exemplified it tremendously. Another professor did a lecture (10 minutes) on the power of and the right way to emphasize words in a reading. It was revolutionary. And there was my mentor, Clay Schmit, orchestrating it all and bringing this whole thing to pass.
Here's my point. I had no idea why I should come to Fuller. I came because they accepted me and had a good reputation. I was blind to the importance of the philosophy of the institution and to the ones that would be teaching me. But God has eyes, even when we are blind. And I realized once more, I am where He wants me to be with the people He wanted me to be under doing what He has put in my heart to do. Amazing!